Happy Thanksgiving, Callen
by Mulderette
Summary: The team gets together to give Callen a happy Thanksgiving. *Note - contains some spoilers for Season 10* Whole team story.


_Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. I hope you enjoyed your holiday._ :)

xxxxx

Callen sat on the sofa in the boat shed, wrapped up in a blanket as he sipped from a cup of tea. "Some Thanksgiving," he mumbled to himself. He'd been fighting off a bad cough for the past couple of weeks, choosing to ignore that it was worsening, until Sam had dragged him off to the doctor a few days ago. After a careful exam and a chest x-ray, the diagnosis of pneumonia had been made, along with a stern lecture from the doctor who had emphasized that symptoms such as these needed to be taken seriously in the future.

At that point, he'd been banned from duty and he'd also decided to spend the holiday alone at the boat shed. Going out to dinner with Sam and his family held little appeal to him, even though Sam had wanted him to accompany them and had offered to pick him up. Besides, he thought Sam and his kids deserved to spend a holiday without him honing in on it. Kensi and Deeks had also extended an invitation for him to join them, their moms and Eric and Nell for dinner, but he had refused that offer as well.

If he was being honest about it, he knew that he was deliberately choosing to spend the day wallowing. His thoughts were consumed with Anna in prison, his father either in prison or perhaps dead, he had no way of knowing, and Hetty being off who knew where. He'd tried three times over the past weeks to leave messages for his half-sister, Alex, but she had ignored him. It wasn't unexpected, but it still hurt. He'd gotten a tiny taste of having an actual family, but it had all been taken from him in the blink of an eye. It was times like these that he longed for the mother and sister who he could barely remember. He didn't often feel sorry for himself, usually choosing to throw himself into his work, but today was one of those days that he would allow it. His eyes filled with tears and he cried for the family he'd never really known and the childhood he'd never really had. Then finally, emotionally spent, he stretched out on the sofa and fell into an exhausted sleep.

xxxxx

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kensi asked Sam, looking doubtful. The whole team was at Kensi and Deeks' place, gathering together the freshly cooked turkey, stuffing and all the accompaniments to bring to the boat shed and surprise Callen.

"We can't leave the guy sick and all alone on Thanksgiving, Kens," Deeks said. "What kind of friends would we be if we did that?"

Sam considered his answer carefully before answering Kensi. "In his mind, I think he wants to be alone today, but in his heart...not so much. I could be wrong, but I'm willing to take the chance. I'm not leaving him alone."

"Uncle Callen needs us," Kamran piped up. "He needs to know how much we love him." After what had happened in Mexico, Sam had gone to visit both his children at their schools and had spoken seriously to them about what had happened. He'd also made the offer to leave the team if that was what they wanted. Aiden, on a similar career path to his father, had given his blessing right away. Kamran had been a bit more hesitant though. She'd lost her mother and the thought of losing her father scared her a lot more than what she wanted to admit. However, finally she'd realized that she wanted her father to be happy and she'd told him she wanted him to stay with his team. Privately though, she still had her worries and doubts and hoped that both he and Uncle Callen would choose a safer career before something horrible happened to them.

"So are we all set?" Sam asked as he picked up the turkey pan with the turkey which had been expertly prepared by Deeks.

"I think so," Deeks said as he, Kensi, Eric and Nell picked up the food and they all headed out to their vehicles. Kensi's and Deeks' moms weren't with them as they had decided to back out of the festivities, thinking that the team deserved the chance to be alone which would be easier on Callen. Instead, they had taken Sam's restaurant reservation with a promise from the future bride and groom that they would spend the following day with them.

xxxxx

"It seems so quiet," Nell whispered as they approached the boat shed, their arms filled with bags and various foods.

"Did you think Callen would in there blasting rock music?" Eric asked, also whispering and feeling suddenly very nervous as he wondered if Callen was going to react badly to this surprise holiday celebration.

"So...are we all just going to bust in there?" Deeks asked, looking to Sam for guidance. Like Eric, he suddenly had his doubts about what they had decided to do.

Sam looked at the worried little group he was leading and suddenly felt like he was leading them into an ambush and ambushing his partner as well. "Wait here. I'll go in first." Balancing the turkey pan in one arm, he opened the door to the shed and quietly walked in. He saw his partner right away, stretched out, fast asleep on the sofa. He put the turkey down on a table and approached him. "G?" He called out softly. "Hey buddy, wake up."

"Sam?" Callen opened his eyes and looked at his partner in confusion as he sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"I...we...how are you feeling?"

"Better," Callen said, his eyes now suspicious. "Who's we?"

"The team," Sam admitted reluctantly. "We didn't want you to be alone, so we brought Thanksgiving to you."

"Oh…" Callen took a few moments to process that and he realized he really didn't mind at all. He then looked at his partner again. "Where are they?"

"Outside...waiting…"

Callen couldn't help but smirk at that. "You just left them all outside? What did you think I was going to do? I think you'd better let them come in, don't you?"

Sam broke into a smile as he nodded. "Yeah, G. I think you're right." He headed back outside where the group was still waiting expectantly. "Hey guys...come on in." Everyone smiled in relief and headed into the boat shed.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Uncle Callen." Kamran ran ahead of the others and gave Callen a tight hug. "I'm so glad to see you." She sat beside him on the sofa and looked at him emotionally.

"Hey Kam...I'm really happy to see you too," Callen said, returning her hug affectionately. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I wish you could have come with daddy when he visited me at school, but he said you were too sick."

"Well, I'm better now, sweetheart." Callen was quick to reassure her. "You don't need to worry about me."

"But you're not better. Daddy said you have pneumonia."

"It's not that bad, Kam. I promise. I'll probably be back at work next week."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Callen's response, but didn't say anything. In any case, he knew his partner wouldn't be allowed back to full duty until he was medically cleared.

Callen turned his attention to his teammates who were standing around looking a little bit awkward. "Happy Thanksgiving, guys...thanks for coming."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Callen," Nell said, smiling brightly as Eric echoed her. "I'm going to start to heat up a few of these side dishes if that's okay."

"Sure, Nell. That sounds great," Callen said. Now that his team was here, he was especially glad that they were. He turned his attention to Kensi and Deeks. "Weren't your moms supposed to be joining you for Thanksgiving?"

"They went out to dinner instead," Kensi said. "We're going to see them tomorrow."

"It would have been okay for them to come," Callen said, fully realizing why they weren't there.

"You've been sick, Callen," Deeks said quickly. "We didn't want too many people here in case you weren't feeling well. In any case, they totally understood and we're going to take them somewhere nice tomorrow. Trust me, a high end restaurant for them today, all paid for, and a day trip tomorrow. They're as happy as can be."

Callen nodded. He still felt a little bad for separating his teammates from their moms, but he decided to take Deeks at his word.

"Dinner is served guys," Nell called out. The food was spread out on the table in a buffet style. Everyone took what they wanted and then sat down informally in the various seating around the boat shed.

"I'd just like to say one thing before we start," Sam said, standing up in front of them all. "This year was a pretty rough one for our team and we still don't have Hetty back with us yet. But I, for one, am very grateful to have my partner…" He sent a heartfelt look in Callen's direction who nodded in acknowledgement, "and our team safely home and healing both in mind and body. I hope this holiday season is a bright one for all of us. Okay, let's eat."

With that, the group all began eating. "This turkey is great, Deeks," Callen said as he dug into his plate of food, feeling much better than he had that morning. The rest of the occupants in the room echoed Callen, praising Deeks' culinary efforts. He had made almost everything except for Eric's excellent mashed potatoes and homemade gravy and Nell's homemade pies.

"You feeling okay, G?" Sam asked. Callen was seated between Sam and Kamran on the sofa and Aiden had pulled up a chair by his father.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I'm good, Sam...I really appreciate all of you doing this for me."

"Did you really think we were going to leave you alone on Thanksgiving?" Deeks asked. "You don't know us very well."

Callen shrugged. He'd spent many Thanksgivings and Christmases on his own in the past. It wouldn't have been the first time, but he had to admit that this one had gotten to him more than others. He knew if his team and Sam's family hadn't shown up that he would have had a miserable day. "Well, thanks very much...to all of you…"

"Wait until you taste Nell's pies," Eric said exuberantly. "They are out of this world."

"Looking forward to it," Callen said before putting a forkful of stuffing into his mouth. Deeks really was an incredible cook.

The rest of the afternoon was a good one with lots of food, laughter and friendship. Finally, it was time for everyone to go.

"I don't suppose you'd consider coming home with us for the night?" Kensi asked Callen. Something about leaving him alone in the boat shed on a holiday didn't sit well with her.

Callen looked back at Kensi, mulling over her offer.

"Come on Callen," Deeks insisted, his own thoughts similar to Kensi's. "Just one night. I promise, it'll be worth it. Homemade waffles in the morning, my specialty."

"Do it, G," Sam said. This was one of those times when he almost regretted giving up the family home. There was no doubt he would have insisted that his partner stay with him, but staying on the boat when the kids were home from school just wasn't practical. "Then, if you're feeling up to it tomorrow, we're going out to see Creed 2 and then to Bill's Pub for chicken wings."

Callen had to admit that both offers sounded really good to him. "Okay," he said, smiling at Kensi and Deeks. "I'll stay with you tonight. Thanks a lot."

"Great," Deeks said, happy that Callen had accepted the offer so easily.

"Let me go upstairs and pack a few things," Callen said as he headed to the staircase, his ascent up the stairs noticeably slower than his usual pace.

"Thank you for doing that for him," Sam said, giving Kensi and Deeks a grateful look. Callen had been alone the past few days, but Sam had been bringing him dinners and checking up on him nightly. He knew the effect holidays could have on people and he didn't think his partner was immune to such things, especially with all that he had gone through, both physically and emotionally.

"It's our pleasure, Sam," Kensi said. Like Deeks, she was pleasantly surprised that Callen had decided to go to their house without putting up a fuss. It made her realize how lonely he must be sometimes, even though she knew he would never admit to that.

"You got your meds, G?" Sam asked a few minutes later when Callen came back downstairs with his duffel bag.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I've got them."

"So, we good to go?" Sam asked. Everyone nodded and they headed out to their cars where goodbyes were said.

"Thanks again for everything," Callen said to Eric and Nell as they got into their car.

"We're just happy you enjoyed it," Nell said as she gave Callen a hug.

"I definitely did. You could start your own pie business," Callen said. He'd eaten a slice of both Nell's pumpkin and apple pie and had found them to be equally delicious.

Nell blushed, pleased with the compliment as she got into the passenger side of the car and Callen closed her door.

Callen then went over to Sam's family. Aiden and Kamran both hugged him, Kamran clinging to him. "Are you going to come out with us tomorrow?" she asked, looking up at him with a look that Callen found hard to resist.

"If I'm feeling okay, yes, I'll go out with you," Callen said, smiling at her.

"Make sure to go to sleep early and get plenty of rest then," Kamran said, momentarily reminding Callen of Michelle. He glanced at Sam and was pretty sure his partner was thinking the same thing.

"I'll do that," Callen said. He then turned his attention to his partner. "Thanks Sam. I appreciate what you did here today."

"No problem, G," Sam said, briefly hugging his partner. "I'll talk to you in the morning?"

Callen nodded. "Sounds good."

Sam's family then headed out and Kensi, Deeks and Callen got into their vehicle. "You good, Callen?" Deeks asked as Callen seatbelted himself into the back seat.

"Yeah, I'm good, Deeks," Callen said. He settled back in his seat and thought about how lucky he was to have such good friends, but he knew they were more than just friends. They were family.


End file.
